People turned up in large numbers to mark International yoga day.
Hundreds of yoga enthusiasts have gathered at the historic National Mall in Washington ahead of the third International Yoga Day to mark the event.
The Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Sarna, said it was a moving sight to see people turning up in large numbers at the heart of the US capital for the event.
"What has happened in the last three years is quite phenomenal, that this movement of pushing forward and achieving recognition of the 21st of June as the International Day of Yoga, started by Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, has brought this ancient discipline, philosophy, and practice from India into the hearts and lives of people in every corner of the globe," he said at the event yesterday.
Mr Sarna said the international event is neither a political movement, nor an economic movement.
"This is something which is only for the benefit of all humanity at both an individual level and a macro level, because ultimately all societies in all countries are made up of human beings," he said.
"If we have each human being who has a balanced view on life, who has achieved a kind of equilibrium inside and outside, I think ultimately will go and affect how nations govern and are governed and how they relate to each other," Mr Sarna said.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, in a citation, sent his best wishes for "a joyous observance" of the third International Yoga Day organised by the Indian Embassy in Washington in association with the Friends of Yoga.